Somewhere today, there's a good chance that a Sky Movies executive is sitting on an elaborate swivel chair and stroking his cat. There's also a good chance that this is taking place inside a hollowed-out volcano overlooking a giant shark tank, and that the executive is explaining how his evil plan came to fruition in a long and needlessly florid monologue.

You see, as part of its latest greedy land grab, including nabbing some of the rights to Formula One and all the BBC's best comedians, Sky has won the exclusive privilege to broadcast all the James Bond movies for the next year. What's more, it will soon launch an entire channel – Sky Movies 007 HD – dedicated to broadcasting all of them on repeat for a month. Do they expect you to talk? No, Mr Bond, they expect you to subscribe.

For years, the 007 television rights had belonged to ITV. You were guaranteed to find James Bond there in one form or another most weekends, trussed into his tightest gusset and doing his best not to let his wig slip down over his eyes between adverts for settees and KFC. He'd become an integral part of ITV. There was Adrian Chiles, there was Amanda Holden and there was 007. But no more.

Now, for one year, 007 is the sole preserve of Sky. And, to be fair, you won't be able to fault its presentation of the Bond series. If it treats the films anything like it treats Formula One – the world's dullest sport – then the films will be shown ad-free in blazing HD, supported by reverential interviews and featurettes that will only enhance the viewing experience. It'll be the best possible way there is to watch James Bond – unless you only have Freeview, because then the best possible way will be to hide in a bush and peer through a Sky subscriber's window with a cardboard periscope.

There are faults with Sky's approach, of course. Currently, the combined running time of all the James Bond movies is around two days. Even padded out with adverts between films and all the DVD feaurettes it can think of – even, if it gets really desperate and airs the 1967 version of Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again – that doesn't really seem enough to sustain an entire channel for a month.

Worse still, if it does prove to be enough to sustain an entire channel, you can bet that Sky will start gunning after other big film franchises. Maybe it'll start a channel that will show all 11 Star Trek movies on a loop, or all 13 Ace the Wonder Dog movies, or the entire 20-film canon of Debbie Does Dallas. ITV must be praying it doesn't come after its Harry Potter rights any time soon – if Sky takes those as well as Bond, then the channel's entire output for the next year will consist of nothing more than a 24-hour feed of the Loose Women as they fight and cry and pick at their toenails with the end of a biro.

But what do you think of Sky Movies 007 HD? Is this the treatment that a British icon such as James Bond deserves, or is Sky just pointlessly flexing its muscles? Leave your comments below.